Loongi Brothers In Surat

About 40 of us held a 2-day retreat in Surat.  It's amazing how quickly strangers can feel connected to each other, when their organizing principle is love.  One 21-year-old came all the way from US -- just for this retreat!  That sounds dramatic but if you know the background story of how these values have dramatically changed his life, you can see how his gratitude would pull him there.

Here's a doodle by Saloni, about what she was feeling in the retreat ...



We all had a great time.  Nimo moved us with his songs on the first night, and Rahul held space like a veteran on the second night with songs, poetry and spirited talks.  One gentleman stole the show with his profound hilarity, that had us all rolling in laughter. 

He opened, "To be honest, I really didn't know what this retreat was about, but it came from a trusted friend, so I went with the flow.  When I first walked in the circle and saw Mihir and Deven sitting in silence, my gut said this is dharma without the adornments and rituals.  After two days with you, I want to share the story of my roots."  He went on to describe how he grew up as a simple farmer, sitting on buffaloes, holding a sugarcane and looking up at the stars in completed contentment.  "That is happiness.  Today, I run a 9,000 crore business and have a Rolls Royce, but if you aren't satisfied, you never arrive."

Parag has been the invisible ladder behind so many Surat ripples, from a gift-economy book store to doing dishes at the local Karma Kitchen to attending Awakin Circles every week to inspiring many small acts of kindness to 21-day kindness challenges to Surat retreats and most recently a local Laddership Circle as well!  

Here's a photo of all of us at the retreat, holding name tags of people who have inspired us:



On the last day, Dravya and I simultaneously had the same idea -- we were going to join our Chennai friend (Venkhat) in wearing a loongi ('vesti' is the more accurate South Indian term, I'm told).  Not only did it ignite laughs but it proved to be endless stream of entertainment, especially since we were about to head into a 3-steps-and-a-bow exercise. :)  Let's just say that it was a good thing we had some backup underneath!

   

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